


And You Know For Me, It's Always You

by takemeorleaveme



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Cause i'm a lazy fuck, I promise they end up together, I've had it done for a while but didn't want to post it, Liam is Luke, M/M, Perrie is Chris, Tahir is Rory, This is my Gilmore Girls AU, Zayn is Lorelai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-25 15:13:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4965826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takemeorleaveme/pseuds/takemeorleaveme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To be completely fair, the whole town fell in love with Zayn and his son, Tahir, long before Liam ever did. </p>
<p>The Gilmore Girls AU I thought would be a good idea and it turns out, it was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. They take their shots, but we're bulletproof

**Author's Note:**

> I am real sorry about any typos you find. But I'm not really gonna care. So. 
> 
> Enjoy!!

Liam had led a simple life in his small town. He never went away for university; he went to primary around the corner, secondary just next door and sixth form literally right across the way.  Needless to say, Liam likes Balidon.  It was small enough where you could know everyone’s business, not that Liam liked listening in on the town gossip.  He always heard about the new families trying to find a nice wholesome place to raise children and that place was Balidon.  It was an easy distance from Bradford, when people needed more than the basics they could easily travel to the next town and get it.  The winters were brutal but Liam’s learned to like snow more and more over the years.  He couldn’t tell you why.

He’s the only member of his family that stayed here after his dad passed.  He tried to leave on holiday once but he couldn’t handle not seeing the same faces he was so adjusted to seeing.  Balidon was where Liam first fell in love with Danielle, where he got his heart broken thanks to Danielle, and where he thought he could find love again after Danielle.

 

It was an exciting day when the Malik’s arrived in Balidon. Barb from down the street took it upon herself to inform him of the ‘fit out of towner with a kid’. Liam thought it must be a young girl but Barb explained further that it was a boy, raising his son. Liam chose to avoid the Inn after they arrived.  He didn’t like meeting new people. 

 

He saw them in the library first then, he was in Tesco and saw him standing there holding his son’s hand tightly as he counted his change.  Liam went to the checkout and left all of the notes he had in his wallet, telling the young cashier to pay their bill with it. Liam watched from his car as the man failed to wipe away his tears in a subtle manner when the young lady told him what Liam had done, anonymously, of course.  He saw him do a gesture that was wholly unfamiliar to him and figured it had something to do with his religion. 

 

Liam didn’t interact with them directly until years later when Zayn’s career was stable enough to spend the money he earned. Liam had heard all the stories about the young lad who came from the next city over, Bradford, holding his son tightly as he begged the owner of the Hearth and Home Inn for work and board.

 

Their first real interaction will always stick out in Liam’s mind as one of the best first impressions that anyone has made. Zayn came into his diner; eyes alight with curiosity, demanding a cup of coffee during the lunch rush. After refusing to serve him right then and there, he can remember Zayn’s face as he pulled out the paper, tore a page out, and drew a comic strip; depicting a diner owner, at least Liam figured it was supposed to be him, (if the backwards cap and plaid was anything to go by) refusing a customer coffee until the owner got _so_ annoyed, he gave in, thrusting a to go cup filled with coffee at the other man, and the customer went away.  

 

Liam was astounded at the other man’s skill, too stunned to remember he had other customers and so, he turned and filled a to go cup and handed it to the man across the counter. Said man then introduced himself as Zayn and claimed he would return later that evening for dinner, left the appropriate amount of change and walked out the door.

 

Liam hasn’t forgotten that day.

 

**

 

It s a cool September morning, Liam’s just gotten through his early bird rush when he sees his a leather jacket jogging across the street, he smiles to himself, continuing cleaning the few empty tables he has left.  He walks back around the counter to place a few orders with his cook and turns to find Zayn standing there with an empty mug.  Liam looks at him skeptically.

Zayn’s face breaks out into a grin, “Please, Liam?  Please, please, please…please?”

Liam turns around to get the coffee pot off of the warmer, he hesitates before he pours any into the waiting mug, “How many cups have you had today?”

Zayn blankly stares, “None!”

Eyebrows raise, “Plus?”

Zayn’s lips twitch, “4,” he rushes out the next part, “but yours is better! And I’ll pay you, maybe even with actual money this time. ”

Liam places the pot down, “You have a problem.”

Zayn lights up, “Yes I do.”

Liam takes the mug from his hands and pours the other gentleman his, apparently much needed, coffee, “Junkie,” falls from his lips as a reproachful sigh.

Zayn picks up the mug, “I wouldn’t want to be anything else,” and walks to a table Liam’s just cleared, shrugging out of his jacket and Liam has to force himself to pick up the phone that’s been ringing behind him.

“Liam’s.”

He hears on the other end, “Liam? It’s Gary.”

Liam sighs exasperatedly. See Liam and Gary don’t get along. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Gary is obsessed with all of these stupid town traditions that, frankly, don’t mean anything to anyone and are used as an excuse for Gary to annoy the living hell out of him but he tolerates it because he grew up here and on some level, a level that he will never agree with himself on, he gets it. He knows why people like the traditions but that doesn’t mean he has to support them. Ever. So when Gary calls him it’s usually for some stupid event he will never want to participate in.

“What is it this time?” He asks.

Gary sighs, “Now Liam why do you always assume I have bad news for you? Sometimes what I have to say is extremely informative.”

“Gary all you ever inform me of is your inane town events that I want nothing to do with. So what is it this time? You need me to—to what? Open my diner an hour earlier? Cause I won’t do it.  I have my hours for a reason,” Liam explains.

“It has nothing to do with the town. We, the town council members, want you to consider taking down the sign above your diner. It’s very confusing to see ‘Geoff’s Bookstore’ and then a sign that say’s ‘Liam’s’ hanging from the side of the building.  Tourists get confused and won’t even go in! That’s bus—“

Liam stops listening because he really can’t consider doing something like that because it would mean his dad was really gone. It doesn’t matter that it was ten years ago, it was still his dad’s building and he didn’t feel right doing that. He wants to keep his dad’s memory alive and be respectful.  He still keeps the shelving around the back walls filled with books that will be eternally unsold.  Liam’s found Tahir stealing multiple copies off the shelves throughout the years and he thinks his dad would have liked that.

Liam cuts him off, “Gary, do I own the building?’

Gary sputters, “Well yes but-“

Liam continues, “If I own the building then, I get to do what ever the hell I want to the building and you don’t get a say.  If I lose business because some nimrod can’t read a sign or a window, then I probably don’t want them as a customer, now do I?”

He hangs up the phone cutting off whatever comments Gary was beginning to say and grabs the coffee pot to do rounds.

Liam ends up at Zayn’s table without meaning to because the guy drinks his coffee extremely fast. He doesn’t even ask before he pours more into the mug.  He glances over to see Tahir sitting at the table with his dad.  The boy that Zayn has is almost a spitting image of himself and it throws Liam off sometimes because of how similar they really are. The only real difference between them are the colour of Tahir’s eyes, the boys a clear blue, a far cry from his father’s hazel orbs.

Liam smiles at the boy, “I didn’t hear you come in, how’s it going?”

Tahir smiles, “I’m good Liam, how’s Gary?”

Liam narrows his eyes at the boy, “He wants me to do something stupid again.  This time I refuse to do it. So. How’s school going?”

He shrugs his shoulders, “Same ol’ same ol’, not really anything new.”

He nods his head and pours the coffee he knows the kid is waiting for.  “You know Tahir, you shouldn’t be drinking coffee, you’re only fifteen and you’re going to become exactly like your father, addicted and desperate for the next hit he can get.”

Zayn laughs, “You make me sound like a drug addict Liam!”

Liam backs up slowly, “I call them like I see them.”

His chest tightens when he sees Zayn guffaw at the table while Tahir looks between them as if he’s deciding on who’s crazier this morning.

**

Liam only gets snippets of Zayn’s life.  Like when he needs coffee, or food or one of them broke the back door lock and they don’t want to be robbed so _you can fix it can’t you, Liam?_ When he heard that Tahir was moving to a new school in Bradford, he wasn’t so surprised.

It wasn’t a secret that Tahir was, _is_ , an extremely intelligent kid. Liam’s known it since he first talked to him and he knows that a kid like that that should not be stuck in Balidon for the rest of his life.  He’s so happy for the kid that he makes sure to have his favourite flavor of coffee on hand from that point on, regardless of what his other patrons want.

 

It’s Monday morning and Zayn stumbles in wearing his leather jacket with his shirt that says, _Thank you, Thank you, Fuck you, Thank you_ on it, like those grocery bags Liam sees people leave Chinese takeout places carrying, with a pair of ripped skinny jeans, his usual combat boots and stubble clinging to his chin.  Zayn’s hair flops wildly over the shaved sides of his head.

Zayn puts his head down on the counter and, into the peeling counter top, he whines, “Coffee.”

Liam looks down at Zayn pointedly, “Wasn’t today Tahir’s first day at his new school?”

Zayn turns his head and brings his arms under it to support the weight, “It was, now how about that coffee?”

Liam turns to look at the pot, “I’m brewing some more you’re gonna have to wait a second.  So, tell me, how does a private school head master react when the father of a student has a shirt that states ‘fuck you’ on it?”

“My clothes are all dirty and I didn’t have time to wash anything and of course this is the one day my rooster alarm clock doesn’t cock-a-doodle-doo at 6am like I set it to last night, so I walked in with my jacket zipped up but they told me to take it off and the look on my mother’s face. She looked like she was about to tear it off my body but then she realised I wasn’t wearing another shirt underneath and thought the better of it. Poor Tahir.  That whole fucking school probably thinks I’m a stoner now.”

Liam pours the coffee into a to go cup because he knows Zayn has to be at the Inn soon, “I highly doubt anyone thought that.  Probably thought something else, but not stoner.  Maybe delinquent but not stoner. I mean, they probably thought you were another kid. B’sides, you can always impress them at parent teacher conferences.”

“I guess you’re right, “Zayn sighs, “Well, I have to go get ready for work now.  Thanks for the coffee!”

Liam watches as Zayn skulks out the door, off to hastily get ready for work. 

**

The chime above the door rings out across the diner past the lunch hours and Liam turns only to find Zayn in a button up striped shirt, slacks and his hair is pulled back into a topknot.

Liam can feel the confusion on his face, “Why are you here?”

Zayn’s face looks weary, “I’m so glad you’ve got such a sparkling personality even at this time of day.”

Liam aims to be composed, “I only meant that I never see you here at this time, is something wrong?”

Zayn plops down on a barstool, “Nothing’s wrong, Tahir get’s out of school in about an hour and his bus pass hasn’t come in yet, so I get to drive and pick him up.”

Liam takes an empty mug and splashes some coffee in.  “Ah, makes sense.”

“Thanks for this, “ Zayn says with the cup at his lips, takes a sip and asks, “Nothing about my addiction this afternoon?”

Liam smirks, “You seem stressed, I’ll start fresh tomorrow morning.,” and begins to clean the counter.

“Thanks, I mean today has been exceedingly strange.  First, I get to see my mother, which is a thrill in it’s self, then I’m at work at this mom comes all the way from Bradford to the Inn just to ask me out for a cup of coffee. All very weird.”

Liam stills his motions, “I mean you didn’t say yes, did you?”

Zayn looks at him with furrowed eyebrows, “Would it matter if I did?”

Liam chokes on his own spit, “No, well I mean. It just might be weird you know? Dating another parent when Tahir just started there.  It could be considered like a conflict of interest.  Plus she was probably divorced and like older than you so it wouldn’t work out anyways.”

Zayn looks at him with an emotion Liam doesn’t understand, “Older than me?”

Liam stares, “Yeah, cause she has a kid in high school.”

Zayn smirks, “Liam, I have a kid in high school.”

“Right but you had Tahir young. I doubt she had her kid as young as you did,” Liam’s foot slides into his mouth, yet again.

“Right, because she’s old,’ Zayn quotes back at him.

Liam just sighs, “Anyways. So—“ Liam gets cut off by a phone ringing. He sees Zayn get his out, “Hey, no cell phones, you know the rules.”

Zayn checks the caller ID, “It’s Tahir, I gotta go anyways.”

He answers the phone, “Hey babe, can you hang on a sec?”

Zayn looks to Liam while he reaches for his wallet.  Liam waves him off, “I gave you decaf anyway.”

Zayn’s eyes narrow, “Never mind, beta, what’s up?” Zayn watches Liam as he backs out the door as if he’s plotting Liam’s demise just for the coffee switch and Liam can’t help but laugh at him.

**

Liam knows he won’t be seeing Zayn today, at least not until after the wedding.  He had been babbling about it to Tahir the other day when they were eating, something about triplets getting married on the same day.   So when Tahir walks in a sits down at a table during Liam’s break, he can’t help that he’s curious about Zayn’s progress on the wedding the Inn’s hosting. 

It isn’t until he gets closer that he sees gloves sitting on the table and a pair of cleats gracing the boy’s feet.

“Those are some shoes you’ve got on today,” he comments.

Tahir looks up from his book, “I went to Bradford and my daada taught me the basics of footie. He says that _all Malik men need to know the sport_ but that me abbu wasn’t gonna do it so he has to now.  Plus, me daadi wants us to get on cos we’ve got to see them every Saturday for dinner since they’re paying for me schooling now.  Not that me abbu would ever want anyone to know that he accepted help from them but like, me abbu’s great and I don’t want him to think I’m ungreatful or summat, cos I’m not. It’s just.  This new school is filled with all these rich preppy kids, yeah? Me abbu isn’t like that. We don’t have the nicest things cos he works for everything and I just want to make em all proud you know?”

 

The boy looks up at him and Liam can’t feel anything but second hand pride because how could anyone not be proud of a boy who thinks so much of his own father?

So Liam smiles down at him, “I know your abbu is very proud of you already, T.  And I’m sure your..daada and daadi are as well. If they didn’t think you could do it, they wouldn’t put in any effort.”

 

Liam knows some Urdu; it’s not that big of a deal. Anyone can go into Bradford on any given Sunday when he’s let Mary watch the place and go into a bookstore he’s never heard of and get a book filled with common Urdu phrases so that he doesn’t look stupid when he doesn’t know who Zayn’s talking about.  Because that happened once and Zayn brushed him off and Liam hates when he does that.

 

Just as Liam finishes his sentence, the chime rings out and Zayn walks in, “This has officially be the day from hell, I am never doing another wedding for multiple brides again. Okay, beta? You can’t let me.  These girls wanted different coloured dresses. D’you know how many shades of red there are? There’s only one because red is only one shade but no these girls were convinced that there were multiple shades and I almost threw one of them in a regular wedding dress just to make them shut up.  I saved you some cake though; it’s in the fridge at home.  Hazza’s very proud of it.  Although, he keeps complaining that Louis doesn’t bring him as fresh of produce as he used to.” Zayn turns his attention to the owner, “Liam, babe, be a doll and get me one of your fabulous chicken sandwiches, please? With a cup of coffee on the side?”

 

In twenty seconds flat Zayn goes from lousy to energetic and projects Liam’s favourite smile at him. It’s a smile where the nose scrunches, Zayn’s tongue is pressed to his teeth and his eyes are alight with mirth; Liam’s never been able to resist it.  Zayn figured it out within the first week of them speaking, Liam’s convinced that’s how he keeps getting roped into doing things.

“Oh! Make that two please!” Tahir says before Liam can walk away to place the order. 

He shakes his head as he goes to place their order, listening to snippets of their conversation.

**

It’s a Wednesday evening and Liam’s watching Tahir glare at a binder filled with scribbles. The kid’s been furiously writing and then scratching out what he’s written with even more vigor. He feels for the kid because school is rough but Liam knows that the new school Tahir’s at has to be ten times harder than any thing he experienced in his days.  That was without the glaring fact that schools are vastly underpreparing students for the real world all while inducing mental illnesses that shouldn’t even appear until late in life but that a different conversation.  He’s just dropping off a plate to a customer and hears the clatter of papers and pens along the floor; he turns to see Tahir hitting his forehead on the empty table repeatedly, Liam frowns at the boy and the mess on his floor and goes back into the kitchen to whip up Tahir’s favorite dessert.

Now if Liam was ever asked why he prepped a Pakistani dessert in his diner, he wouldn’t be able to answer honestly but no one asks him those questions so it’s a moot point. But he does; he prepares firni once a week just incase Zayn or Tahir wants something that’s a little more their style. Now that they go to Zayn’s parent’s home every week for dinner, they’ve started to eat more traditional and less, well., _Liam’s_.

To keep his customers happy, he preps the rice pudding and keeps it chilled waiting for one of them to ask. Which is how Liam finds himself searching for Tahir’s favourite dried fruits to put in the bowl along with the pistachios and almonds. 

He’s a little proud of himself when he drops the bowl off at Tahir’s table, who has now cleaned up his mess and is back to erasing all of his previous work.  The boy looks at the bowl and then up at Liam.

“Firni?  But I didn’t order it?”

Liam smiles, “You didn’t have to, I saw the distress signal and figured you could use some cheering up.”

Liam looks up and sees Zayn enter.

Zayn walks in and take in the scene before him, softening as he sees what Liam’s done for his boy, “Beta? You’re eating dessert before dinner?  Not that I’m in any place to judge but you never do this, is something wrong?”

Tahir just stares at his abbu, “I think I’m in over my head, abbu.  This school is filled with all these smart people and I know I was smart here but all of these people are smart.  What if. Abbu, what if I’m not good enough?”

Liam’s heart hurts at that because if there is anyone who is good enough for this school and those pompous jerks, it’s Tahir.

He watches Zayn kneel next to Tahir’s chair, “Tahir, mujhe tum par naaz hai.  So proud.  You have no idea. Don’t let anyone let you feel otherwise, yeah?”

Liam reliases he doesn’t need to be here for this conversation and quietly walks away, letting father and son have their moment.

**

Liam has always enjoyed Harry, really he has.  It’s just that for some reason or another he has this weird idea that he and Zayn are more than friends or even acquaintances. Not that they are friends, well, friend-ish. Liam would call them friends, he’s not so sure Zayn would though. It makes it a little more than obnoxious when the other man comes to breakfast with Zayn and the other worker at the Inn and Liam cannot remember her name to save his own life.

“Good morning Liam, what disgusting thing are you going to make me and pass it off as breakfast today?” Harry inquires, with a gleam in his eye.

That would be the other reason why he doesn’t like when Zayn holds their meetings here. He hates cooking for Harry. He hates cooking for any chef really but Harry is different because he’s been properly trained and Liam just messes about on his griddle.

“I was planning on cooking you what you ordered and nothing disgusting, Zayn eats here all the time and he never complains!” Liam defends.

Harry’s smirk slowly spreads across his lips, “Yeah but that’s for an entirely different reason, if you know what I mean,” he raises his eyebrows suggestively.

There it is, the innuendos that aren’t lost on him, the glances at he and Zayn while they catch up on their week, and the suggestive tones.  He tries to ignore them when they happen but there’s that part of him that swells with something he’s not ready to identify.

Liam turns to Zayn, “I don’t know why you keep having your meetings here when you know he does this every time,” he turns back to Harry, “just pick something and I promise not to mangle it too much, yeah?”

He goes to get the coffee he knows the trio will request, pours and walks away, knowing it’ll be a while before they order since that girl wasn’t there, he really should write it down somewhere.

In a quiet tone he hears Zayn speaking to Harry, “I’ve met someone, it’s, uh, it’s Tahir’s teacher at his new school.  His English teacher. She’s.  Well she’s funny, smart, has a good sense of herself, likes coffee, knows I have a kid, and I honestly can’t find a reason not to go out with her. “

Liam feels his stomach flatten in his body, the burning of rejection courses through his veins because there it is, staring him in the face, the reason why he never tries anything with Zayn. He’s straight, you would think that Liam’d gotten the hint when he met Tahir but, apparently, it wasn’t a big enough sign. 

Liam can’t stand there anymore so he goes into the backroom to, restock the shelves or something equally as distracting but all he really does is stand there and wonder how he could have been such a fool.

It takes about ten minutes for him to gather himself enough to even face Zayn again and when he rounds the corner back into the dining area he see Harry behind the counter.

“Harry!” He shouts, “What have I told you about being behind the counter?”

“Liam! I wasn’t trying to-,” he mumbles.

“You don’t come into my area, you don’t see me ever going into your kitchen when I visit the Inn!” Liam’s furious now.

“That’s because you never visit the Inn,” Zayn reminds.

Liam whirls around to look at him, “You know I don’t violate _anyone’s_ personal space and behind that counter is _my_ personal space, Zayn!”

Zayn looks over at Harry, “He’s right mate, get out from behind the counter and stay out from now on, okay?”

Tahir walks in, in his normal clothes since it’s Saturday, “Did Harry go behind the counter again?”

Liam huffs to himself, “I’ll get you a mug,”

**

Liam can hear the mumbling before he sees him.  He’s going over numbers while he waits for a new pot of coffee to be finished and from the corner of his eyes he sees a new tattoo.  It makes him look up to make sure he’s got eh right person in front of him. He does, Zayn’s on the phone with his mom by the sound of things.

“No.  I asked you if we could change to Saturday and you said you didn’t want that so I get Saturday for the party and if you think you’re getting more than that, you’re crazy.  No, ammi. You do n.” Zayn points to a mug and smiles hopefully before huffing into the microphone, “Ammi. Ammi.  The longer you talk the more I have to say. Ammi. Just stop. Please.  Fine.  Yes, mother. I said fine.  You can have Tahir’s party on Saturday. See if I care. Yes. Khuda hafez.” He ends the call and Liam can tell he isn’t pleased.

Liam tests the waters, “So, I take it your ammi is having a right fit over Tahir’s party, hm?”

Zayn looks at him, “I don’t understand how she can be so, so, ugh, so her.  It makes me so annoyed and angry and I cannot stand that women and her proper world and her forced manners.  It’s like, I get it, I know I’m below you now. The only thing that makes this okay is the fact that it’s for Tahir and I can’t stop them.  So it’s whatever,” Zayn take a sip, “Hey, you’re coming tomorrow, right?”

Liam smiles, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

He get’s his favourite grin in return, “Perfect, I’ll see you at seven.”

Zayn hops off the counter and Liam tells him, “Fee aman'nillah, Zayn!” before the other man gets too far from him.

Zayn turns toward him and shakes his head fondly with a, “Shabb bakhair, Liam,” falling form his lips as he exits the diner.

 

 

Friday morning he feels better than he has in weeks and it’s all because he gets to spend his night with his two favourite people.  He goes downstairs to prepare Tahir’s table with the presents he was told not to buy and the balloons he didn’t order weeks in advance.  It’s the boy’s sixteenth birthday and he knows Tahir will be treated like a prince but he want’s him to feel extra special when he comes for breakfast.  

Tahir walks in promptly at 8:30 and sits down at the counter. 

Liam goes to the counter space, “You’re not supposed to be sitting here.”

Tahir looks confused, blue eyes going wide, “I’m not?  Is it because my abbu isn’t here?”

Liam shakes his head, “No, you’re not supposed to be here because the preset and balloons I ordered are over there.”

Tahir looks over his shoulder where Liam is pointing.  “You got me a present? And balloons?”

He walks over to the table, “Boht Boht Shukriya, Liam. Really, you shouldn’t have.  Me dad’s gonna be so jealous that you did this for me and not h—and no one else.”

Liam smiles at the kid, “Salgirah Mubarak!”

Tahir hugs Liam and promptly opens the book Liam got him.  It’s his copy of _Catcher In The Rye_ , complete with all of his notes written in the margins from the course and his own thoughts; sections underlined that really stuck out to him.  Liam can’t image a better person to have it.  

Tahir thanks him profusely and makes sure Liam’s coming over tonight because now he has to come and Liam really wouldn’t miss it for anything.

 

 

Liam’s late. Well not late, late but he’s definitely not getting to this party on time at all. He walks up to the house and finds the party in full swing with a man sitting on the front porch reading last months GQ.  He opens the door with the hand that isn’t holding the bag of ice and immediately hears a chorus of “Liam!” echoing around him. 

He smiles at everyone while trying to find the set of eyes he always looks for in this small town.

Zayn comes barreling around the corner, “Did I hear someone say Liam?  Mate you made it! Glad you closed up early to join us. Oh thank Allah; you brought more ice. You are a lifesaver!”

Liam lets Zayn guide him into the kitchen where a woman in a very nice suit is residing, that’s the only way to describe how she stands there.  Somehow floating above the rest of them.

Zayn scratches his neck while Liam puts up the ice, “Right, Liam this is my mom, Trisha. Trisha, this is Liam.  He owns the diner in town.”

He’s been preparing for something like this for years. He’s had the greeting down for months. Liam extends a hand as he greets her with a polite, “Assalaam-o-Alaikum, Mera naam Liam hai. Kya haal hey?”

The woman’s eyes widen as she moves forward to accept his hand, “Wa'alaikum Salaam. Liam was it?  Are you fluent in Urdu? Your accent is spot on.”

Liam blushes and looks at Zayn who is, what can only be described as, beaming at him, “Ah, no. ’m not fluent. I just know a few phrases and can pick up words here and there. It’s a fun hobby of mine.”

She nods her head and moves out of the room.

He turns to Zayn, “She is scary, how did you grow up with that as a mom?”

Zayn laughs at him, “I dunno man. I just did, I guess. Got out as quickly as I could though.  My sisters weren’t so lucky.  They’re around here somewhere, if you want to meet them.”

Liam’s nodding before Zayn can finish a sentence but they get distracted by the party and festivities to really do anything for hours it seems. 

Liam is walking into the kitchen when he overhears a heated conversation.

“Zayn I know you’re hiding him from us, and that’s okay.  If you want to be secretive, it wouldn’t be the first time but he seems like a nice man. He knows Urdu. Why would he learn Urdu if he wasn’t interested in you?”

He hears Zayn’s sigh, “Mother, you don’t know what you’re talking about.  Liam and I are just friends.  He has been so kind to Tahir and me.   Nothing is going on.  I’m not even attracted to him.”

Trisha laughs outright, “Oh my dear larhka, that man is more your type than anyone on this earth.” He hears footsteps, “He has kind eyes.  When was the last time you let a man like that love you, or anyone for that matter? Tahir tells me you’re lonely. I can see it in your face. He could love you right, this Liam. Don’t wait too long to let him, he might choose someone else if you don’t do it soon enough.”

He hears her footsteps getting closer and he pretends to just have walked down the hallway, passing her with a smile and a nod.

He finds Zayn leaning against a counter in the kitchen.

“Fancy meeting you here. I was beginning to think you went to bed. Are your parent’s leaving?”

Zayn looks up at him, eyes heavy with confusion, “Ah, yeah.  They’re leaving now.  Saying bye to Tahir on their way to their car.  Liam, are you seeing anyone?”

Liam stutters, “I—wh—No. I’m single.”

Zayn nods, “How long have you been single?”

“I’d say..about five or six years. I haven’t dated since Danielle left. Why?” He hears himself say.

“No reason, I just think you should find someone who makes you happy.”

Liam has to force himself to not say that he already has.

“Zayn, are you wasted?”

The other man giggles, “Completely. I’ve lost count of the drinks I’ve had.”

Liam shakes his head fondly and moves to help the other man attempt to leave the kitchen but Zayn’s pretty useless. He figures out that he’s going to have to carry him upstairs and tuck him in. 

He quickly picks up Zayn bridal style and walks slowly through the kitchen; he passes Tahir in the hallway and tells him the plan while he hears Zayn murmuring words under his breath in Urdu. Liam looks to Tahir who pretends not to notice.

 

Liam’s got Zayn tucked in bed when a hand reaches out and grabs his wrist.  He looks down and sees Zayn looking surprisingly awake.

“Mera dil ka tukura, Liam. Always have been. Always will be, you know? Couldn’t take it if you was someone else’s,” he tells Liam.

Liam nods along even though he has no idea what that phrase means.  Probably something about best mates or something and writes it off.

He walks down stairs and sees Harry sleeping on a very awake and smitten looking Louis. He waves at the other man before heading out the door and walking back to his place.

**

A few weeks later he finds Zayn pouting in the diner over some fight he got into with his mother. Liam knows how terrifying that woman is so he doesn’t question Zayn when he asks for two servings of firni instead of just one.

Gary’s in the diner asking him about free chai teas for some children selling something or raising money, either way he refuses because it’s Gary asking.

Zayn glances down at his phone and see a text message that really affects him.

“Oh. No.  I have to.  I have to get to Bradford.  Something happened to my ammi.  She’s in the fucking hospital and I need to get to Bradford now.” He’s looking frantically, as though he’s trying to create an escape route and Liam can’t stop the words from coming out of his mouth, “I’ll take you.  Let’s go, my car’s out back and I’ve got time to spare.”

Zayn stares at him, “But Liam, you have customers and food cooking.”

Liam walks to the grill, shuts it off and throws his keys to Gary, “Lock up after you get those teas, I’ll get my keys from you tomorrow. Let’s go Zayn.  We have your ammi to see.”

They’re in the car and Zayn keeps glancing at his phone like it’s going to tell him minute-by-minute updates. It doesn’t but Liam doesn’t feel the need to clue him in on that detail.

They drive in silence but that’s to be expected when something like this has happened.

“Why do you know Urdu?” It’s said into the car in almost a whisper but since there isn’t any other noise, it sounds like Zayn shouted it.

Liam shifts uncomfortably in the driver seat, “I um.  I don’t.”

Zayn scoffs, “Please Liam. You greeted my mother with the proper greeting as one who greets a friend or someone they respect.  If you know how to do that, you know Urdu.  Did you date someone from Pakistan?  I mean I didn’t know you for a while.  You said it’s been a few years. Tell me about her.”

Liam listens and it only makes him annoyed because how can he not see it?

“I didn’t date any one from Pakistan. Or anyone that was Muslim either. Why the sudden interest?”

Zayn looks over at him, “I didn’t know whether or not there was someone you were waiting on. I see you get asked out, loads of women check you out but you never act on it.  I mean you don’t even have my excuse, what gives?”

Liam decides it’s now or never, “There’s someone I’m waiting on but he’ll never want me.  I guess it’s a bit pointless but I can’t seem to want to get over him.”

Zayn looks resolutely at the road before them, “I didn’t know, I’m sorry for prying.  I won’t ask about it again.  I, um, I wish you luck with that.  Maybe this guy will come around and see what he’s missing, yeah?”

Liam feels like laughing because Christ, how can Zayn be so intelligent but not see what’s in front of him? Instead he mumbles a “thanks” and continues to drive to the hospital.

 

They arrive and they stumble upon Yaser who is shouting at a staff member for not allowing him to see his wife the moment he wants to and Zayn takes a deep breath, “Baba, how is she?”

His father turns, “Oh. I didn’t think you’d show your face.  If I knew anything, I would tell you but since no one is helpful in this stupid place, I can’t.” He notices Liam just then, “Were you on a date?”

Zayn shakes his head furiously, “No, Liam was kind enough to drive me here.  You met him at Tahir’s birthday party.”

Liam waves and greets, “Kya haal hey?”

Yaser ignores him and looks to his son, “I’m glad you finally sorted that mess out.”

Tahir walks up with a doctor and sport Liam, “Liam! Hey, I didn’t know you’d be here.”

He pulls the kid into a hug, “I just drove your abbu.  I’ll be leaving soon. I really hate hospitals. Haven’t been here since me dad passed.”

Zayn turns from his father, “I didn’t even think of that, Liam I am so sorry. You don’t have to stay at all. Please go back home. We’ll be fine here.”

Liam shakes his head, “I really don’t mind.  I’ll keep Tahir company.”

He watches the older men walk down a hallway to get answers and he sits down next to Tahir, “She’s gonna be fine, okay? This was probably just a little thing and she’ll be fine in the morning.  Don’t worry about it.”

Tahir just stares forward and Liam hasn’t seen him like this since he was ten so he does what he knows works. He shrugs out of his button up and pulls him close against him.  Tahir wraps his arms around Liam’s middle as Liam drapes his shirt over the boy. He secures him there with his arm around his back and feels the sobs wracking Tahir’s body. They stay like this for what feels like hours because soon enough Tahir’s asleep and Liam can’t help but think about how easy it would be to fit into their lives like this.

 

Zayn is standing in front of Liam as he finally wakes up. His neck is stiff and his shirt is wet from tears he didn’t shed. Liam focuses on Zayn’s eyes and sees tiredness there, one that was mirrored in Tahir’s eyes.  He shifts slowly and lets Tahir laydown fully on the bench. He readjusts his shirt and turns to pull Zayn into a hug.

He hears a sigh leave the other man’s lips.

“Zayn, she’ll be fine. The doctors said so. She just had low blood sugar, that’s an easy fix.” He comforts.

He feels Zayn nod against his chest and he holds him a little tighter.  He’s rubbing soothing circles into the man’s chest when the door opens again and Yaser doesn’t spare them a second glance but it’s too late, the spell is broken and Zayn is trying to discreetly wipe tears from his eyes as he pulls away.

“You should get back to town, I know you have to get up early tomorrow.  Can you take Tahir back with you?”

Liam agrees, “Of course, is there anything else you need?  I can fix up some food and deliver it to your place later.  I make a mean chicken pilaf and naan.”

Zayn smiles, “That would be great Liam.  Thank you.”

Zayn goes and wakes up Tahir to tell him the plan.  The boy looks sleepy and agrees to what his dad tells him and smiles at Liam.

 

Tahir is softly singing along to the radio when he suddenly asks, “Liam, are you gay?”

Liam grips the steering wheel harder, “I am. Is that a problem?”

Tahir laughs, “No, I was just wondering.  I haven’t seen you with a girl---ever. And plus, me abbu might be blind but I’m not.”

Liam chokes on his spit.

“Not that I care, I think it’d be great.  He doesn’t talk to me about things like this but I know whom I’d pick for him to be with. Sure, it’s every kid’s dream for his parents to be together but me mum isn’t right for him.  She’s too, what’s the word, ostentatious.” Tahir pauses, “She likes grand things, not that there’s anything wrong with liking nice things, it’s just that you know what matters in the world.  She’s got her head in the clouds. You’re stable, kind and I’m almost ninety five percent sure you’ve learned Urdu for my dad. He hasn’t caught on but he’s starting to. And if you haven’t figured out what he said to you on my birthday, you’re both even more stupid than I thought you were.”

Liam’s mouth opens and closes a few times but Tahir continues before he can speak.

“I mean what kind of a guy gets balloons and a present for a kid that isn’t even his.  A present that clearly meant something to him, his edition of his favourite book, and he just gave it away.  ‘I can't explain what I mean. And even if I could, I'm not sure I'd feel like it.’  Do you know how many times you have that line marked?”

Tahir laughs, “I’m not going meddle. But I will say, if you want to do something with me dad, you’ve got my permission.”

Liam pulls up in front of their house, “Tahir—I-“

Tahir cuts him off, “I don’t want to hear your lame excuses, I just observe.  I know how you feel.  Don’t wait too long.  Me dad gets really impatient but he’s been waiting a pretty long time for a Liam. I think we both have.” He gets out of the car and shuts the door.  Liam rolls down the window to see clearer and Tahir turns around at the noise, “Bye Liam, thanks for everything!”

Liam can barely comprehend the conversation he’s just had because whether or not he meant for it to happen, he’s in way over his head with Zayn.

**

Zayn is watching Harry yell at Louis about squash or something to that effect. 

“What do you mean you don’t have any butternut squash?  I specifically requested butternut squash,” Harry reminds him.

Louis picks up a vegetable, “This is a spaghetti squash.  Which is just as good as butternut squash and has more flavor than butternut.”

Harry fumes, “If I had wanted spaghetti squash, don’t you think I would have ordered it myself? I specifically asked for the butternut because it’s what I wanted, Louis.”

Louis is pacing back and forth now, “Look, Harry, the butternut squash that I have is no good for you. It’s too soft and doesn’t have enough flavor to it.  So I decided to give you my best spaghetti squash instead.  Can I leave now? Now that you know that I am sorry for the mishap but I did it with good intentions?”

Harry just stares at the blue eyed man, “Louis, would you like to grab coffee sometime with me?”

Louis opens his mouth a few times before replying, “Yes, I would.  Does now work for you?”

Harry bites his smile, “Yeah, now works for me. Zayn, I’m taking my lunch.”

Zayn can’t contain his glee, “It’s about damn time!”

Zayn goes back to the front with his cup of coffee and goes to the front desk where Niall pretends to get work done and shares the good news. 

“How wonderful, now maybe they can go fuck and I will never have to deal with them again,” he comments casually.

Zayn almost spits out his coffee.

**

“But Zayn, you could at least get to know the guy.  It won’t hurt you. Besides, Louis says he’s totally your type!”

Zayn stares at Harry, “I already know my type. I don’t want to date someone who isn’t my type especially not when I could spend that time hanging out with Liam.  Like I have planned. So no, I will not be doing any of this. I will be present in the diner but I will not meet this guy.  At all.”

Harry throws his arms up in frustration, “Fine! Sit at the counter oogling the cook the whole night. See if I care!”

 

Friday night finds Zayn watching Liam in the kitchen from his favourite bar stool.  Tahir’s at home studying so Zayn went out to let him get a good amount of work done. 

He likes watching Liam cook because he gets this crease between his eyebrows when he concentrates and Zayn thinks it’s the cutest thing. 

Liam walks around the counter and Zayn starts in telling him about the date Harry and Louis are finally going on.

“First of all, Harry wants me to double with them because apparently they don’t want it to start of so serious but like. I know Harry and he’s looking for serious so it doesn’t make any sense to me. I told them to end up here cos they both like you and your food. At least I think they do, Haz complains about it all too often but I’m fairly certain he only does that because your burgers are better.  So they should be here in about…fifteen minutes,” Zayn finishes with a glace at his watch.

Liam smiles at him, “That sounds like a great plan.  I can’t wait to see those two on a date.”

This is Zayn’s opportunity. He can just segway into what he wants to say next, finally being brave. He goes to open his mouth but Liam cuts him off, “How’s your ammi doing?”

Zayn deflates, “She’s good. Really good.  I um. Called her the other day.  She’s fine.”

Liam nods and moves away from the counter.  Zayn gets a shot of courage and he beings to speak, “Liam, I was wonderi-“

A new voice cuts him off, “Nice leather, bad boy.   Mind if I try it on?”

Zayn freezes because, wow that’s forward, he stares resolutely ahead and finds Liam staring over his shoulder.

Liam looks down at him and then up at the person behind him. 

Zayn refuses to turn because this cannot be happening but the quiet, “Mum?” he hears his son say confirms it.

That would explain Liam’s face, he thinks to himself.

Zayn turns on his barstool and sees a person he hasn’t seen in over 10 years, hasn’t thought of in just as many.

He clears his throat, “Perrie. You’re looking great.  How’s. Everything?”

She grins, “Zayn, my love. It’s been too long! Where’s Tahir?  I miss him so much.  Those phone calls I get aren’t enough.  Might have to change it from once a month and add a call a week, yeah?”

He meets his son’s eyes over her should as he hugs her, they’re too open and too hopeful for what he knows Perrie will do. 

“Mum, I’m behind you,” he says.

She pulls out of the hug and, “Oh my sweet boy.  How are you? I’ve missed you!”

Tahir awkwardly waves, “ I’m fine. Missed you too, I s’ppose.” Tahir’s face changes, “How long you here for this time? A few hours before your next gig?  A few minutes before your new lover calls?” Tahir shakes his head and walks back out of the diner.

Perrie tries to go after him, but Zayn stops her, “He needs to cool off, yeah?  I’ll talk to him later.”

Zayn wants to go after his son himself but before he can he see Liam take off his apron and chase after his son, doing exactly what Zayn didn’t expect him to do. He sighs and gets the cook’s attention to order.

**

Liam has imagined what Perrie would look like ever since he met his boys.  He never quite thought she would look like that woman in there though. She seemed.  Different.  That was as nice as he was willing to be. He didn’t like how she just walked into his diner acting like she knew everyone. He could believe how Tahir reacted though. The boy just shut down. He’d never seen that before. Not even when he was a kid.

Liam jogged down the street wracking his brain trying to figure out where he could have gone. Liam remembered Tahir had always loved the pond in the city park.  His feet brought him there sooner than he had expected and found a teenager sitting cross legged against a tree reading what looked a lot like _Catcher In the Rye._

“Tahir, mind if I sit for a mo? I’ve got some free time and I could use an opinion on something,” Liam baits him.

Tahir looks up and sniffs back some tears, “Hey Liam, what can I help you with?”

Liam sits next to the boy, “See, I’ve got this idea that I want to try.  Kind of like a free library thing.  One person puts a book on a shelf, take a book that’s already there and someone else does that same thing.  Kind of like an off the record library, it can have all sorts of books like Self-help, scifi, mysteries, and even some comics. D’you think that would be a cool idea?”

Tahir brightens, “I think that’d be sick, Liam!  Like we wouldn’t keep track of them at all and like you could take a book for as long as you want as long as you leave one there,” the boy replies.

Liam smiles, “I knew you’d like it. Thanks for the encouragement. You’ve gotta help me out with the books though.  I’d put all these old books in there and lame batman comics. No one would want to take ‘em.”

Tahir chuckles, “I’d take the Batman ones.  Only cause I’d know they were yours and I know how much you love Batman.”

Liam lets a quiet come over their conversation.

 

He clears his throat; “I can remember when I saw you for the first time.”

Tahir looks at him, ”At the diner? What a memory, how can you even separate them now?”

Liam smiles, “No. I saw you for the first time in the library.  You were surrounded by books that seemed too far out of your age group.  And I wondered to myself, who let this child mess about in the junior section?  He shouldn’t be reading _To Kill a Mockingbird_ or anything by Kipling.  But there you were looking intently at the back cover of _The Jungle Book_.  You already had _Mrs. Dalloway_ in a pile next to you. I kept thinking where is this boy’s mother.”

Tahir scoffed, “Probably off in London auditioning for some singing show.”

Liam choses to ignore him, “Just as I was about to walk over to help you, a man kneeled beside you. He had a stack of books in his hands on Maths, English, history and one that was titled: _How To Be A Single Parent._ I didn’t exactly know who you were but I was so touched that your dad was raising you.  Not your mum.  A guy who looked about 23 was checking out books on single parenting and he didn’t look ashamed. He was so proud to be your dad. He spoke to you softly in a language I didn’t recognise and you giggled at him.” Liam took a deep breath, “That was it for me. That’s when I knew.”

“Knew what?” Tahir questioned.

“That’s when I knew I could love your dad. A man who was willing to give up so much for another person, for whatever reason, is so rare and your abbu did it at a young age. From then on, I tried to look out for you two.  Made sure you never went hungry. It got increasingly more difficult when your dad started to eat at the diner more often.  I couldn’t charge you lot a different price than anyone else without him noticing. So I picked up an electric bill here and there, every one in the town has done the same. “ Liam turns to look at Tahir, “I don’t think you’ve ever noticed how every classroom you’ve been in has been stocked to the brim with the best pencils, pens, markers, and coloured pencils.” Liam shakes his head,  “No, I didn’t think you would.” He says the last part to himself.

Tahir doesn’t say anything for a few moments, “Why are you telling me this now?”

Liam looks at the younger boy, “You need to know that while your mum might not love you in the way she’s supposed to, there are people in this town shouting their love for you every time you walk out your front door. I’m not saying it’s the same but you are not less of a person because you do not have a mother. You need to remember that the next time you decide to hold her reactions to her situation against her.”

Tahir gulps at the air, “Liam, I wasn’t-“

“It’s okay, kid, I know you weren’t doing it on purpose.  But you gotta remember that some people aren’t meant to be mums.  Some are just the people that bring you into the world,” Liam sighs. “As much as I will never understand or even know her reasons for leaving you and your abbu, she has them.  Maybe you could try to figure them out some day.”

Liam gets up and brushes off the dirt on his trousers.

“I’ll have some ice cream sent over to your house in about an hour, make sure you’re there to eat it, yeah?”

With that Liam walks away and goes back to his diner to work and pretend he didn’t just confess everything he’s kept to himself for years to a sixteen year old kid.

**

Liam walks back into his diner and sees Zayn laughing at something the blonde said. The pang of jealousy that courses through his veins is completely unjustified but there it is. She’s got her hand on his arm as if it belongs there and he can’t help but remember the day Zayn walked in with that hand tattoo in honour of his heritage.  Liam will never admit it but Zayn’s the person that inspired him to get his little collection.  He looks nothing like Louis and Harry but he’s got a good amount.

 

Liam goes back around the counter and tells his cook to prep the ice cream so he can drop it by when he said he would.

He hears bits and pieces of their conversation and tries to block it out because what kind of a person is this bird?  He has some select words to say to her but refuses to start a fight with Zayn over it. He knows he’ll lose more than the argument. 

 

“Order up for counter!” His cook exclaims and that must be their food.  He sees Zayn’s chicken sandwich and knows instantly that she’s got the pulled pork one.  He wishes he were surprised.

He takes the plates off the window, dons a fake smile, and does a 180 to place them in front of his customers.

“Chicken sandwich and a pulled pork for the lady, enjoy guys!” He turns immediately to busy himself so he can avoid what he knows is coming.

He hears a “thanks” in a feminine tone and thinks he’s made it off Scott-free but then he hears a familiar, “Leeyum.”

He fights how his shoulders want to drop and places that smile on his lips as he turns back to Zayn, “What’s up?”

Zayn smiles at him, “I don’t think you’ve ever met Perrie.”

Liam fakes trying to remember, “No, I can’t say I have.” He turns his glance to her, “It’s lovely to meet you, I’m Liam.”

He watches her eyes widen, “Oh my gosh! You own this place, right?”

He nods his head, “I sure do. I hope you enjoy the sandwich.” He turns away not sparing her another glance. He hears Zayn’s protest but ignores it because it’s too fucking difficult to be near Zayn and know that if Zayn had the opportunity, he would pick Perrie over him in a second.

 

He’s walking the ice cream over to the Malik’s house thinking to himself that he probably shouldn’t be dropping this by himself but he never did hire the other server so he was the only option.  He walks by Ms. Labelle’s dance studio and sees all the younger kids trying their hand at dance and some are succeeding but most are staring into space, one has a finger in their nose and one’s got a skinned knee.

Ms. Labelle calls out to him, “Off to dote on your favourite customer?”

He shakes his head, “Just doing a regular delivery, Ms. Labelle!”

She laughs at him, “Sure, sweetie, and I didn’t sleep with President Clinton!”

He laughs to himself, that’s her favourite story to tell.  She always brags about how good Bill was in the sack.  She claims he was visiting for diplomatic purposes.  She told him she was about the most diplomatic thing he could do. Apparently to Ms. Labelle, her bedroom was where the most important political decisions have been made.

“Good night, Ms. Labelle! Oh, you’ve got a skinned knee!” he tells her.

She looks at him confused, “Skinned knee? Honey, what does that mean?” He points behind her. “Oh! Skinned knee! Thanks doll, tell Tahir that I love him!”

He walks a little bit faster than he should just to get away from Ms. Labelle before she decided to actually talk to him. 

 

He arrives at his destination at is glad to see most of the lights off in the house.  He knows where Tahir’s room and isn’t surprised to see the all the lights off but every single one in his dad’s art room is on. He walks up and takes the house key from the planter, and let’s himself in.  “Tahir,” he calls, “I come bearing ice cream!”

He hears a door slam and footfalls on the stairs before a boy dressed in his dad’s old Green Lantern shirt and torn skinny jeans appears in front of him.  He smiles.

“I’ve got two flavors, chocolate,” Tahir makes a face, “and your favourite, rocky road!” The young boy’s face breaks into a grin.

“You are the absolute best, Liam. I hope you know that!”

Liam watches the boy go into the kitchen to get spoons because Liam remembers the time he suggested that they use bowls and received, “but Liam, why would I dirty another dish?” in response. From then on he hasn’t commented on their dish usage. 

Tahir returns with two spoons where he proceeds to lean Liam to the living room so that he can force him to sit and watch the rest of Captain American: The Winter Soldier and Liam didn’t need this in his life tonight.

“Tahir,” he groans, “You know how I feel about this movie.  Stop making me watch it!”

Tahir laughs into his ice cream and switches it to the recording of The Dark Knight, which he knows is Liam’s preferred to watch because of Heath Ledger’s Joker. Sure, Jack Nicholson’s was good but how can you compare the two when Heath Ledger is asking, ‘You wanna know how I got these scars?’

 

Liam watches for a few minutes. It’s one of his favourite parts. Alfred is explaining the time he was in Burma and he doesn’t realise it but he says “Some men just want to watch the world burn” with Alfred and he notices that he’s being stared at, “Do I have something on me face?”

Tahir shakes his head, “Nope. I was just watching you. You’ve got a very expressive face.”

Liam doesn’t quite know how to take that, “Thanks, I think?”

Tahir take a bit of his ice cream, “So, did you meet me mum?”

Liam nods.

Tahir doesn’t let up, “What’d you think of her?”

Liam shrugs his shoulders, “Don’t really know.  I met her for a few quick seconds before I got called into the kitchen. She was very polite though.”

Tahir sighs, “I want to know her, you know?  Like she’s me mum and I should probably care that I talk to her once a year on me birthday but like, I can’t bring meself to do it.  Me daadi says that she was a lovely girl who could never stop singing. That’s all she ever says about her.”

He takes a breath in, “Nothing about how she ruined me abbu’s life, nothing bout how she deserted her only kid with a sixteen year-old boy who had the world in front of ‘im, and she just breezes into town like she fucking owns the place. Like she owned your place! Liam, I don’t want to get to know her.  I mean. I know her but like I don’t want her to be in me abbu’s life. Not when he has someone who cares about him like you do.”

Liam’s in uncharted waters here because Zayn could come home with her at any second but he knows Tahir is hurting so he tries to comfort the boy, “Tahir, your abbu and your mum made that decision together.  Your abbu told your mom to get her dream. He didn’t want the things she wanted. He wanted a nice quiet life, in a place where you could feel safe, your abbu wanted to be a vital part of your life not just a figure in it.  He wanted more for you than he did for himself.  You shouldn’t put one of your parents up on a pedestal while you demote the other, yeah?”

He hears Tahir’s broken inhale, “Why didn’t she want me, Liam?”

He can hear his heart break for the boy clutching his ice cream carton, as though it too will leave him.

He swallows, “I can’t answer that, chand. You know I can’t.  Maybe you should ask her next time she visits.  I know that if I had the choice between you and me diner, I’d pick you. I would always pick you and your abbu.”

Tahir wipes at his tears, “That’s because you know how big me abbu’s comic book collection is.”

Liam laughs, “That’s probably true but I can think of another reason to pick you two.”

Tahir looks up at him, “What’s that?”

Liam takes the ice cream from the boy, places it on the coffee table, and pulls the boy into a cuddle, “A young kid that’s read more books than the local librarian, a boy who always shares his pancakes, a boy that’s made an entire town proud, I’d pick that boy over anything.”

Liam can feel the sobs wracking through his body and tries for the life of him to figure out how anyone could give up a soul like Tahir.  He kisses the top of the boy’s head, “She’s bat shit crazy, chand.”

Liam let’s the kid cry himself out before his forces him into bed because, “It’s a school night and I know how much you need sleep, so yes, get into bed and, no, you cannot have chocolate chip pancakes tomorrow---Fine! You can have them if you go to bed right now!”

 

Liam’s locking the front door as Zayn’s walking up the pathway, “Long night?”

He turns to see the other man, “I could ask you the same thing.”

Zayn shrugs, “Perrie left after we ate dinner.  Said something about recording in the morning and wanting to get back.”

Liam meets him half way, “Tahir’s asleep, don’t wake him up. I promised him his favourite pancakes in the morning if he went to bed when I said.”

Zayn smiles, “Chocolate chip?”

Liam scoffs, “Of course.”

They stand in silence for a few beats before Zayn speaks, “I know he’ll never forgive her. She’s hurt him too many times for that.  I just hope he can forgive himself.  Not that he needs too but because he feels responsible for this whole mess.”

Liam nods his head, “He’ll figure it out one day. Maybe next time, you shouldn’t let a random guy who gives you food to comfort him though. “

Zayn furrows his brow, “ Liam, you’ve never been just a random guy.  Okay, maybe you were at first but you haven’t been for a long time.”

Liam shrugs his shoulders and shoves his hands in his pockets, “Whatever, mate. Just trying to be neighborly I s’ppose.”  He starts to walk around Zayn to go home when Zayn’s hand grabs his upper arm.

“Liam,” he begins, “You’re important to him, you know?  Like the kid would be, like, proper upset if something happened to you.”

Liam shrugs out of the hold and really makes progress on walking away time.  He can’t help himself when he turns back around and says, “Just the kid, hmm?”

He turns back around and block out any sound other than the blood rushing to stain his cheeks.

 

When Liam finally gets in bed that night, it takes him a long time to fall asleep.


	2. Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll upload chapter 3 at some point within the next few days. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It’s a colder day that it should be in November when Zayn comes rushing into the diner looking frantically for him.  He hears his name being called over and over, “Liam? Liam!  Hey—have you seen him—Liam, you know.  Always in plaid. Liam.  Come on..Liam??”

He peeks out from the back, “What’s wrong? Is Tahir okay?”

Zayn sags in relief, “Oh thank Allah, I need you.”

Liam looks lost, “For what?”

Zayn gestures to the square out front of the diner, “Ms. Laballe has girls bidding on a date with me. I can’t do it. I don’t find any of them attractive. Please oh please don’t let me be auctioned off like this.  Tahir’s already been taken by some cute girl from his old school but I can’t do this. I’ve never even seen these women before!”

Liam looks past him and see tow women rapidly out bidding each other, “Fine, but just this once, okay?”

Zayn’s face lights up, “Thank you!! You are the best I promise to do something that will be of great value to you in the future!”

He follows Zayn outside and hears Gary keeping up with the bidding, “47.50, 48.00, 48.50.”

Zayn shouts, “50.00!”

Gary pauses, “Zayn, you can’t bid on yourself!”

He looks to Liam who sheepishly says, “He did it for me, Gary.  My bid is actually 54.50”

The women look confused, “We were only supposed to go to 50.00?”

Zayn’s having none of it, “54.50 going once!  54.50 going twice! Sold to the lovely diner owner!”

Gary huffs in response to losing his power like this but accepts it when Liam puts the notes on the podium.

Liam turns to Zayn, “Are we good? Can I go back to work?”

Zayn shakes his head, “Leeyum, you’re my date for lunch.  You bought me fair and square.  Where do you wanna go? Nando’s? Ummm how about Pret? Oh! We could always go for McDonalds.”

Liam just stares at him, “Yeah we are not doing that.  Go pick a bench and I’ll be back with some food from my place.”

Lim returns with their lunch and finds Zayn idly looking at his phone for entertainment.  Liam sits next to him.

As he’s distributing their food he can’t help but ask, “Who were you hoping to buy your date?”

Zayn shrugs, “I dunno, I didn’t really have anyone in mind, if ‘m honest.  I just always love doing these little town things so I figured why not, plus, Tahir says I need to put myself out there more.”

Liam busies himself with diving up the chips, “So no particular woman you wanted to take out today?”

Zayn chortles, “I’d rather not have a woman in my life at all.  I’ve never really had a type, I dated Perrie because it’s what our parents wanted. She was brilliant when we were kids. But you don’t know what you want in a spouse until you’re older.  I’ve found that I like people who are steady.  I’ve had loads of instability in me life and I want someone who’ll be constant, you know?” He takes a breath, “Someone that’ll be there in the morning to see me off to work or to make sure Tahir gets on the proper bus for school. Perrie’s never gonna be that. I don’t think a lot of women are these days. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m quite happy we’re finally moving towards actual cis-gender equality. Still got loads of work to do for trans-equality but that’s a different conversation, innit?”

Liam tires to follow the conversation as best he can, “So you don’t want a wife to dote on you?”

Zayn tsks, “I don’t want a wife at all.  I’ve only been with one girl. The rest have been lads.”

That’s new to Liam because, “Are you bi?”

Zayn shakes his head, “I’m actually pretty gay but I suppose since I was attracted to Pez, that does make me a bit in the middle of the spectrum. I don’t really like to label it. I like what I like and I really don’t give a fuck about what other people say.”

Liam tries to process this because he could actually have a shot with this Adonis sitting next to him. This man who likes Green Lantern, has a copy of _The Scarlet Letter_ in tatters from over use, and the voice of someone who needs to be played as you ascend to heaven. Liam can barely make his mouth move for a minute.

Zayn soldiers on, “Tahir told me something the other day.  He said that you told him you were gay, which I find a bit odd if I’m honest because I know you dated that Danielle girl for a very long time and took a while to get over her. What made you realise?”

Liam coughs, “It was actually when I started having feelings for a, uh, someone else in town. I knew I had never really loved her. At least not the way you’re supposed to love someone.  I loved her like a friend that I occasionally slept with.  It was easier to be with her than to be alone.”

He’s thought about this over the years, what the weather would be like, if Zayn would actually have a halo above his head, or if the snow would be falling because Liam timed it just right with mother nature but no.  It happens like this, quietly, over a shared plate of chips.  Liam leans over the plate and raises a hand to brush some ketchup off of Zayn’s lip. Without a second thought he cleans his finger off with his mouth and Zayn’s stilled in a hesitant smile that betrays how nervous he actually feels.

Liam take a quiet breath and moves his face just a little bit closer to Zayn’s, pausing to give the other man the out he’s praying he won’t take. The words barely hit a decibel that can be heard by human ears but he hears Zayn’s encouragement, “Come on then, come on,” which is all Liam needs before he touches his lips to Zayn’s.

They stay like that for a few moments, neither of them willing to push the other farther just incase this isn’t what they want.  Liam’s the first to pull away needing to not feel the light touches of Zayn’s lashes on his own cheek and making sure he can still get oxygen to his brain before it really short circuits.

He ducks his head and moves to scratch his neck all while sneaking a glance at Zayn thought his eyelashes, who is trying to bite down a smile that won’t be stopped and Liam can’t help the thought that ricochets around his head. _Nothing lasts forever but this is getting good now._

 

**

Liam hears about the wedding from Louis as he delivers his fruit and vegetables for the week. He’s busy handing over the crate filled with tomatoes when Liam sees the ring on his finger shines in the fridge’s light.

He pauses his movements, “That’s some piece of jewelry you’ve got there, Lou. Almost looks important.”

Louis looks offended, “It is important.  Harry proposed.”

Liam smiles, “did he now? Tell me the story then!”  
Louis blushes, “Well, I was a bit of a dolt.  He had mentioned that his flatmate was moving out and that he needed another one and I said I’d help him fond someone but I guess what he really wanted was for me to move in with him but I wasn’t getting that so yesterday he didn’t bid on me.”

Liam gasps, “He let you go on a date with someone else?”

Louis narrows his eyes, “No he did not. Yes, I got auctioned off to someone else but he and I talked before the date and I apologized for being so think and not realizing what he wanted and he did too because I technically didn’t do anything wrong?”

Liam laughs, “So you fought and then ended up engaged?”

Louis smiles, “No! Actually, I told him that I would move in with him but he said he didn’t want that anymore, which like crushed me cause I’m so in love with him it’s scary.  He said, ‘No, I think we should get married too.’ Pulled out the ring and here we are.”

Liam shakes his head fondly, “I wouldn’t have expected it to happen any other way.  You two have always been unconventional.”

Louis smirks at him, “I hear that we weren’t the only ones to have a pleasant date yesterday.”

Liam blushes, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, mate.”

Louis break out into a grin, “Oh, but you do and this is such a sweet moment for me to revel in. The town loner, has finally, finally made a move on our resident bad boy.  We’re all so pleased.  We’ve been taking bets each year to see when it’ll happen.  Thanks for holding out for so long, made me loads of money through out the years!”

Liam stops helping Louis and goes back to the diner because it wasn’t a big deal, okay?  They just kissed it’s not as though they were together. Or were they?

Lima has so many questions that he just left unanswered because he didn’t want to hear Zayn rejecting him but what if the other man wasn’t going to reject him?  What if he was going to say yes to him?

He sighs to himself as he goes to make a fresh pot of coffee, extra strong because it’s almost time for his boys to show up. 

He’s talking with some regulars when the door opens and Tahir is making a b-line for him.

The kid goes around the counter and forces him into a huge hug.

Liam tries as best he can to reciprocate it, “Hey, chand, what’s with all the love this morning?”

Tahir’s words are muffled into his torso, “Me abbu told me about your date, I’m so happy you finally got your shit together.”

Liam looks over at Zayn who is trying to play it cool but the blush staining his cheeks gives him away.

Liam smiles at him as Tahir hugs him tighter.

Zayn watches and moves to sit down just as Harry comes strolling in, “I was told my fiancé was here. Is that true Liam? Are you hiding him somewhere?”

Tahir lets go of him just as Louis comes out from the back, “Hazza?”

Harry’s face breaks into a huge grin, “There’s my fiancé, I love saying that. I’m going to keep saying it until I can say husband.”

Liam shakes his head and gives Zayn a little wave because he doesn’t know what to do, apparently, in these situations. Tahir goes to a table and motions for Harry and Louis to join them. 

Zayn calls out to him, “Liam, we’re also meeting Niall here to discuss wedding plans.  Can you send over every one’s usual?”

Liam nods, “Sure thing!”

He goes to the kitchen to starts their food and lets his cook take over when he gets back from lunch, he’s walking to the back of the place when Zayn pulls him into his storage room.

Liam tries to get his feet firmly under himself, “Zayn! You’re not supposed to be back here!”

Zayn just smiles at him, “Leeyum, did you know that I haven’t kissed you since yesterday?”

Liam blinks, “I did know that.”

He hears rather than sees Zayn step closer to him in the dim lighting, he feels the other mans breath tickle his neck as he whispers out, “Did you know that it’s all I’ve wanted to do since then?”

Liam audibly swallows, “I didn’t know that.”

He can feel Zayn’s hands gliding over his arms to where they rest around his neck and his arm automatically latch around his wait, bringing him closer.

Zayn connects their lips first and Liam sighs into the kiss.  Liam can feel the nerves coming from the other man but doesn’t stop for a second; rather he’s the one that darts his tongue out to prod at Zayn’s mouth. He’s practically begging for more than this chaste kiss, Zayn laughs and he pulls back a bit, “Easy there, sanam. Don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, now do we.”

Zayn gives him one last peck and walks out of the storage room as though nothing happened.

**

And that’s how they act for the next few months while Harry and Louis get their wedding together. Stealing kisses but never really saying anything more about it.

Louis and Harry send out invitations a month before because it’s not that difficult for an entire town to free up a day on that short of notice.  Liam responds yes but respectfully declines the ‘plus one’ option they gave him.  He knows Zayn will be there, he and Tahir are Harry’s groomsmen. He figures he’ll have a pretty good time with his boys.  He’d been spending loads more time at Zayn’s place than he has in the past, mainly because it’s easy. It feels right to fall asleep while Tahir watches BBC News and he does his homework, Liam feels at home when he brings dinner over and is welcomed with a kiss and a warm embrace, and Liam refuses to believe that all of this is too good to be true.

**

It’s early on the evening before Harry and Louis’ wedding day and Zayn is busy putting the finishing touches on the Inn before he heads up to bed.  He hears a guest checking with Niall and he’s speaking with a familiarity that the other man never has with guests. 

“It’ll be great to have you around here again, he’s needed his mum’s guidance if you ask me. Not that Liam isn’t doing a great job of helpin’ the lad out but Zayn’s needed the lad’s mum. You can tell,” he hears the Irish man say.

 Zayn hears that familiar laugh and his stomach drops. He rounds the corner to find her standing there with luggage, and his parents standing slightly behind her. He panics.

He does an about face and runs, literally runs and by Allah does he need to start thinking about working out again because this is fucking difficult.  He arrives in the kitchen out of breath and sees Harry standing in front of his own wedding cake arms stretched out as if he’s protecting it from whatever Zayn’s running from. Harry eyes him wearily.

He’s panting, “She’s here.”

Harry stares at him, “Who we talkin about here?”

Zayn still can’t breathe, “Perrie. She’s here, and, and so are my parents. And Niall’s out there telling her that Tahir’s needed her which is completely untrue because fuck that Irish bastard, I am doing a fantastic job and so is Liam. Not—Not that Liam has any responsibility to Tahir because we aren’t dating because we haven’t had that conservation yet! And I don’t even know when we’re gonna have that conversation because well..it’s a fragile time in our tentative relationship that we haven’t established yet and none of that will happen now _because Perrie is in the fucking lobby with my parents_ and by the look on your face, you know why.” Harry pales, “Tell me now Styles or so help me!”

Harry now has his hands in his chef jacket’s pockets, “I, um, I invited your parents. I told them they were welcome to bring another person if they really wanted to, I never thought they really would.  Especially not her.”

Zayn tries to think of a way out of this horrible situation, “Did you know that I haven’t once told Liam about why Perrie left Tahir with me?  Did you know that I’ve never told him how every time Perrie comes to town she always wants to know if we’ve finally got our shit together and gotten together? Did you know that I’ve never told Liam how Tahir once asked if he could be his dad? Did you?”

Harry shakes his head.

“That was rhetorical. Harry, I haven’t gotten the chance to tell him these things because everything is so new and I don’t want to scare him off.  I want him to still think of me as a situation that doesn’t have a lot of gravity to it. I don’t want him to feel like he has to commit to me.”

Harry bursts out laughing. Zayn looks at him sharply. Still laughing, “I’m sorry mate but if you think that for one second that Liam doesn’t know that dating you is a serious commitment then I really can’t help you.”

Zayn stares at him. Harry continues, “Zayn, Liam has wanted you from the moment he first saw you.  He’s wanted you and Tahir.  Never just one or the other.  He wants a life with you.  D’you know that one day he referred to you and Tahir and ‘his boys’?  Louis told me and I found it charming.  You need to sort this shit out, mate.  He’s been waiting for you to be ready for him.  You’re daft if you think it’s the other way around.”

 

Zayn tries to process all of this but realizes that his isn’t the time to deal with any of his problems because his best mates are getting married in the morning and he’ll be damned if it isn’t perfect.

“Fucking whatever, I’ve got to send Perrie away before Liam sees her, “he replies.

Harry scoffs, turns back around to keep working on his cake, “Right because that’s the biggest problem, Liam and Perrie seeing each other.” Harry’s voice quiets, “Because god forbid if Perrie and Liam have a conversation about anything before Zayn’s ready for them to interact.  Makes perfect sense, Harry.” 

Zayn sighs, “I can still hear you?”

Harry glances over his shoulder, “I know you can, you daft prick; now, get out before I have Pierre remove you.”

Zayn skulks out of the kitchen and into the lobby where his parents have vacated but Perrie remains talking to Louis.

“It’s not like they made it official or anything but we can all see just how much happier they both are, you know?”

He hears her giggle, “I’m glad that Zayn finally grew a pair!  He’s been wanting Liam for years now.  Every time I’d call he would always talk about what Liam had done around the house or what event of Tahir’s he showed up to, made me feel a bit at ease knowing they were being looked after properly. “

Zayn walks up to their conversation, “I thought I heard a familiar accent!” He wraps Perrie up in a huge hug because while it might not seem like it, he does adore this woman-without her he wouldn’t have his son. 

He misses Tahir’s entrance because it’s over powered with his parent’s fussing over him and Tahir’s moments with them.  As if they never see each other.

Tahir walks over to Perrie and hugs her, which is something he’s never done before. 

“Hi, it’s good to see you Perrie. I was hoping we could maybe have a chat later today,” the boy asks.  And Perrie is too shocked to do anything but nod her head in agreement.

Zayn watches them go and hears the Inn door open again, just in time to see Liam walk though with a blinding smile for him.  Zayn can’t help but be excited to see him.

He walks over to him and pulls him in for a hug, “Haven’t seen you in ages, where you been?”

He feels Liam shrug his shoulders, “Right where you left me I s’ppose.”

They break apart since his parents are right over there, “Baba, ammi, you remember Liam., don’t you? From Tahir’s birthday.”

His mum smiles at Liam, “Of course I do.  It’s been a while, how have you been?”

“Been good, busy with the diner and what not.  Keeping real occupied with these two, you know?”

Yaser laughs, “Oh, they can be a handful. Are you Zayn’s date to the wedding in the morning?”

Zayn chokes on his words while Liam clears his throat, “No. I don’t think so.  I’m just going by meself.”

Yaser nods his head, “Good. That means you can be Perrie’s escort.”

Zayn pales, “Baba, there’s no reason I need to be Perrie’s date I- I’m in the wed-“

He cuts him off, “Who said anything about Perrie being your date, beta? I was talking to Liam.”

Liam looks between Zayn and Yaser, “I didn’t- Is she? I had no idea she was even here. What a lovely surprise. Isn’t it Zayn? Did you know she was joining your parents?”

Zayn can see the confusion laced with hurt in Liam’s eyes, “I didn’t know she was joining them. I didn’t even know she was in the country!”

Liam shakes his head, “I’m sure you didn’t.  You know, I’ve actually got loads of things to do at the diner like clean the crumbs out of the toaster or refill the salt shakers and then after that I’ve got to change my feet so it looks like I won’t be able to make it to the wedding after all,” Liam steps away from the conversation and goes to walk out the door. “It was absolutely lovely to see you two again, phir milaiyin ge!”

Zayn hears his father clear his throat,  “I take it he doesn’t know that Perrie’s a lesbian?”

Zayn turns to give his father a dirty look, “I think it’s safe to say that my parents just started a fight between me and the one guy I could ever see myself having a future with but you don’t seem to care about that. Have a great night.  I’m gonna go find Liam and try to fix this mess.”

**

Liam can’t believe this happened, again.  He’d gotten so close. He had wanted it. God had he wanted it. And the worst part was that he thought Zayn had too.

He’s pacing the path at the community park and he can’t remember how he got here but here he stands. Or walks or whatever synonym there is for pacing. His mind is racing and he hears the leaves crunching but he doesn’t really comprehend the leaves crunching as like a signal that someone’s there so when Zayn clears his throat Liam startles.

He whips around to see him standing there.  Looking like he’s a fucking Versace model because of course he does with his stupid scruffy beard and fucking topknot that Liam hates. Except he doesn’t but, come on.

“Can I help you with something?” He asks.

Zayn worries his bottom lip between his teeth, “I didn’t know she’d be here.”

Liam scoffs at that because, “Really? You had no idea that the mother of your child would come to a wedding that the whole town has been going on about for months now?  You really didn’t know she’d be coming in the calls she’s given you?  You really didn’t think she’d be coming?”

Zayn shakes his head.

“Of course you didn’t. I’ll pretend I believe that.”

Zayn starts, “you should believe that because it’s the tru-“

Liam cuts him off, “Don’t try to tell me about the truth, okay? You want truth Zayn?  Fine.  The truth is that I have loved you for years.  ‘M absolutely head over heels.  I’ve pined after you, I’ve wanked over you, and I’ve turned down countless dates just for that little hope that I can’t seem to kill. D’you know what it’s like to love someone like you?” Liam takes a breath. “I have loved you in summers, when your hair is cut short and you live in tank tops on the weekends.  I have loved you in winters, where big coats swallow you whole and all I can see are your eyes peeking over the top of the collar. I have loved you in falls, when all you wear is your stupid leather jacket because you know how good you look in it. I have loved you in springs, where I watched you traipse all across town placing flowers in your son’s hair.”

Liam’s ranting now and Zayn isn’t even trying to stop him.

“I have loved you, Zayn. And I have waited for you. When you kissed me, I thought you were finally ready.  I thought that you had finally understood when I took you to the hospital to see your ammi that I was yours. I thought you connected the dots when I held your son as he cried over a mother he would never get. And for fuck’s sake Zayn how could you not know that it was me who took care of you?”

Zayn’s eyes narrow, “What do you mean ‘took care of me’?”

Liam laughs, “It was me! All those times you didn’t get an electric bill. All those times your tab was paid at the pizza shop. When you had miraculously found £100 in your house to pay for groceries that month?” He takes a deep breath because here it comes, “I have been in love with you and loved your son for years. I have made sure you were fed, warm and happy as best I could, for the last ten years.”

Zayn looks angry now, “D’you want an award?  I didn’t ask you to do those things.  I don’t want your fucking charity!  I can take care of me son on my own! Without any help from anyone and you know that, Liam!”

Liam’s livid now, “Don’t you get it? You don’t have to do it alone, Zayn.  I am right here.  I am willing to be on your team for the rest of my life! I am stable.  I am ready. Don’t you see that? How can you not see how easy it would be? Your son already loves me.  Your parents have clearly understood my intentions.  They knew right away that we would be good because I overheard you talking to your mom at Tahir’s birthday and, god damnit, I’ve learned Urdu and taken three years of Arabic classes. I know that Tahir means pure and I know that Zayn, the real spelling with an i, means beautiful. I can make naan with my eyes closed, I order special herbs from Pakistan because I know you like your chicken seasoned with them!”

Liam can see the wheels turning.

“You were the one who left money in the grocery store all those years ago.”

Liam sighs, “Yes.”

“You were the one who donated all that money to the schools here when they were going through budget cuts. You were the one who sponsored the Islam classes at Ms. Labelle’s. You learned Arabic? And I didn’t get that you had Pakistani food items on hand for me until right now.  I thought it was just because there were loads of Middle Easterners in town.”

Liam looks at him fondly, “What other Middle Easterners come into my diner on a regular basis?”

Zayn looks at Liam, “You’re the reason my son loves Batman.  You’ve given him more meaningful presents than I ever have and, oh my god, Liam you’ve even stayed open late during Ramadan.”

Liam scratches the back of his neck, “And opened early.”

Zayn looks at him in disbelief, “I’ve been such a fool.”

Liam takes Zayn’s hand, “Now you know, okay? So maybe just think a little bit about it before you pick Perrie, yeah?  I know you won’t pick me in the end but I wanted to make sure I was an option.”

Liam kisses him on the cheek before he runs down the path and into his diner because, yes.  Liam is scared shitless of rejection and doesn’t like waiting around for the other shoe to drop.

**

Zayn wishes he had seen what Louis and Harry tried to tell him so many times sooner.  It would have saved him so much heartache. He knows Liam and he knows that if he goes into that diner and tells him that he chooses Liam a thousand times over, Liam will think he’s doing it out of obligation. So, he sits on a bench.  And places his head in his hands and wonders how in the world he was so fucking blind.

 

**

 

Zayn hadn’t spoken to Liam since their.. he didn’t even know what to call it.  But there he was sitting in the crowd, looking absolutely handsome in his three-piece suit he donned for the nuptials.  Zayn stood resolutely next to Harry for the ceremony, cried at the heart warming parts and laughed when Louis talked about how long he pined over the chef.  He saw how happy they both were and wanted the similar thing for himself.  He wanted Tahir to go off to school knowing his father had found love with the man who tried so hard to be a part of their lives and took care of them without knowing it. 

He heard the couple say ‘I do” and started crying along with the couple. He couldn’t believe Harry and Louis got their shit together before he did with Liam.  He looked for the brown eyes he missed so severely and found them focused on his person already.  Zayn had one word to describe Liam: steady. 

As he walked up the aisle with Louis’ sister, he realised that the only other person who had been in his life more than Tahir, was Liam.  He wasn’t the first person he told things to but he was one of the ones who had to be told. He always looked out for Tahir, disliked Gary as much as the rest of the town, probably more, and he was the only person who shared his affinity for comics.  Even if the bloke liked DC over Marvel. Zayn didn’t think that they could ever amount to anything serious because Liam had always been so closed off with that part of his life, when maybe it was that he never had that part of his life. It all clicked for him and he wasn’t about to let him go. He needed Liam to know that he wasn’t going to run from him or choose someone else. 


	3. And I know for you, it's always me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about any errors you find :)

The bell above the door rings out in the closed diner, “Can you not read? I’m closed.”

He doesn’t bother to turn around. He knows it’s someone in town so he’s not too worried about trouble but he doesn’t expect to hear the female voice that asks, “He hasn’t told you about how we got Tahir, has he?”

Liam freezes. He stares through the order window at the pristine kitchen.

“I know you don’t want to talk to me, or even get to know me but you should at least listen to what I have to say.”

He nods briefly and turns to face her. She’s got on a pretty dress, must be designer. He doubts she’d wear anything else. 

She smiles at him, “I met Zayn when I was ten.  We were in the same year at school and we were best friends. I had never had a boy, let alone a boy so pretty, be my friend.” She laughs to herself, “He always wore a batman shirt. Always.  It didn’t matter how cold or how hot it was, he always had it on.”

“We grew up in a world that was smaller than this town, if you can believe it.  Zayn was my..I guess you could say he was my moral compass. If I wanted to do something, I’d ask him. He’d tell me if he thought it was a good idea, he’d tell me if I was an idiot.” She laughs out right this time, “I dyed my hair pink once.  Bright pink. When he saw it, he laughed at me and called me a troll doll.  He said I looked like I stuck my head in a candy floss machine and decided it looked good enough.”

Liam smiles for a moment.

“I can remember when Zayn first told me he might be bisexual. I was crying over my friend Jade getting a boyfriend. She was my crush, I knew I wasn’t completely straight but..I didn’t know if I was completely gay or bi or pan..I didn’t know. But I knew I really liked her. The guy asked her out and she said yes—I’m rambling but he told me he had feelings for a few people..and wouldn’t tell me their names. I stupidly assumed he meant me.”

She glances down at the counter and takes a deep breath, “We had sex to confirm our sexualities. I read all the proper material, so did Zayn. We treated it like a science experiment we were trying to get first place for, which, if you know Zayn, isn’t too out of character.”

Liam nods.

“It happened one time. I was too..embarrassed to ask my mum to put me on birth control so Zayn bought condoms.  We thought it would be enough,” She looks up at him and smiles with tears in her eyes. “And it was.  It was enough to confirm our sexualities.  I was 100% gay, Zayn was 100% bi.”

“I never wanted to be a mum. Ever.  Especially not at 16. I..I couldn’t imagine where I would be if Zayn hadn’t done what he did.”

She wipes the stray tear that escaped her eye.

He takes the bait, “What did he do?”

She fixes her hair, “He told his parents what we did and they weren’t even as angry as they could have been, overjoyed is the most applicable word. I moved in with them after my parents kicked me out.” She pauses, “When I finally had Tahir, Zayn was in the room with me and we had agreed on putting him up for adoption. Had the paper work all filled out, closed adoption. We wanted to live our lives. But Zayn,” She laughs a watery laugh, “Zayn got passed Tahir because I refused. I didn’t want to hold something I could never have. He held him and that was it. Zayn was in love.”

Liam feels astonished. He never thought it happened like this.

“I knew from that moment that Zayn was meant to be a dad. But I wasn’t meant to be a mom. I held him. And agreed to dissolve the adoption. I gave full custody to Zayn. We agreed that I would stay with him and Tahir for as long as it took for me to get back to normal. Of course this was at his parent’s house.”

She looks him in the eyes, “I love my son. And I love Zayn.  If he wanted me to, I would move back in with him in a heartbeat and be a mom. But every time I bring it up to him, he tells me to live my dreams because he’s got his. He’s got his son and he’ll be perfectly happy.”

“Tahir doesn’t know that Zayn’s the reason I stay away.  Zayn’s the one who left me.  Not the other way around. I woke up to Trisha shaking me awake asking if I knew where her son was.” Perrie is full on crying now, “I know my son thinks I abandoned him but I didn’t. I didn’t.  How can you abandon something that never belonged to you? Tahir may be my son by blood but he’s picked you and Zayn as his parents.”

Liam’s at a loss for words, “I—Perrie.”

She cuts him off, “No, I don’t want an apology or an explanation. I want you to understand that I pose no threat to you and Zayn. He loves you. I think he did from the moment he saw you.” She’s pulling herself together, in vain because Liam doesn’t care about how she looks but, he supposes she’s got to get back to the reception.

“I like you Liam. I like you because my son likes you. Not because Zayn does,” she pushes away from the counter. “Now, I’ll see you in about a month when I drop in for some random event and if you aren’t living with Zayn, I’ll assume he screwed it up because I know there’s no way you’ll mess about.”

She adjusts her dress, “Have a good night Liam. Welcome to the family.”

She flits out the door just as quickly as she came through it and Liam is speechless.

**

Zayn’s sitting at a table when Perrie sits next to him. He looks over at her and notices her smile.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?”

She turns to him, “Liam is a very good man. He’s kind, responsible and a good listener. Do you know how rare that is in a man?”

Zayn looks away, “He has two sisters.”

Perrie laughs, “Oh Zayn. You’re so transparent.”

He scoffs, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No? Did you know that Tahir has a copy of Catcher in the Rye he carries around with him every where?” She questions.

He nods, “Yeah, he checked it out a while ago, he keeps renewing it.”

Perrie tilts her head, “Is that what he told you? Or is that what you’re guessing?”

Zayn shrugs, “My guess.”

She smiles, he finds it unnerving, “Liam gave it to him.  It’s Liam’s personal copy.  It’s got his name on the front page, it’s highlighted and there’s notes in the margins.”

Zayn stares at her, “Do you have a point?”

She sighs, “Zayn, I let you run away with my son, I know you have full custody but I could have fought you on it. I have stepped back as a mother. I let you raise my own flesh and blood after we agreed to give him up. But I will be damned before you let our son go without Liam in his life.”

Zayn looks at the dance floor, “I know you don’t want to hear this but you need to. Tahir needs him and you need him. Go to him tonight and fix whatever you’ve screwed up, cause I know it was you. Liam would never ruin his chances at having you. Fix it now, Zayn.”

Zayn avoids looking at her. Perrie leans forward and pecks his cheek, “I’m saying bye to Tahir and then I’ll be off.” She stands up, “Oh and maybe you should have told Liam about how we began and ended. Saved yourself a bunch of trouble.”

Zayn watches her walk away from the corner of his eye and sighs dejectedly.

**

Tahir is walking his drunk baba home and he’s kind of angry. Liam should be helping him and he fucking isn’t, so that’s cool. 

“Baba, you need to at least attempt to walk,” he says exasperatedly.

His father snorts, “I am walking, beta. See..me..feet.”

Tahir looks down and sees his father’s eyes are closed. He can feel his dad becoming dead weight in his arms and they finally give up on him. His baba is now lying in the grass a block away form their home.  “Fuck. I need—where’s…Mobile..Need..”

He gets his hands on his mobile and tap’s Liam’s name, “Pickup, come on…please Liam..pick up the phone..”

“Tahir? What’s going on?”

“Liam!  Oh thank Allah.  I need your help..It’s me dad.”

He hears Liam’s breath intake, “is he okay?”

Tahir chuckles, “He’s just passed out. Drunk.”

Liam sighs in relief, “Oh Christ, you scared me.  Could you have lead with that?”

“Sorry, Li.  Didn’t mean to.  I just. I can’t carry him on me own, yeah?”

“Where are you two? I’ll be right there.”

Tahir looks around, “A block from our place.”

“I see you.”

Tahir looks over his shoulder and sees Liam jogging to them, “Thank you for coming.  I know you’re mad at him right now but I really appreciate it.”

Liam squints, “I’m not mad at him. I’m upset that he didn’t ever tell me some things but I’m not mad.  And if I were, that wouldn’t change at all how I feel about you. I will always help you.”

Tahir smiles, “Thanks Liam. I really.  That means a lot.”

Liam nods.  Then looks to the ground.

“I’ll attempt to wake him up. I don’t know if it’ll even work.”

Tahir agrees, “Might be best.”

Liam crouches down to Zayn’s level and Tahir watches in rapt attention at the way Liam runs his fingers through his dad’s hair. He hears his dad hum.

Tahir hears Liam softly coaxing him, “Zayn, love. I need you awake.  I know you’re in there but I need to you wake up.  Just for a few minutes.  Then you can go back to sleep.”

His dad lulls his head into Liam’s open palm and smiles, “Missed you.  Why’d you leave me?”

Liam chuckles, “I didn’t leave you, I would never leave you.”

Zayn hmphs, “You did Li, gotta stay now, stay for me.  For Tahir.”

Liam sighs, “You know how much I..care about you. Now, you need to get up.”

Zayn’s eyes open, “No. Carry me. Be me knight in shining armor, Leeyum.”

Liam looks up at Tahir who is idly picking nonexistent lint off his clothes.

“Fine, but only because you’re so cute.”

Zayn smiles widely, “Ya hear that beta? Leeyum thinks I’m cute.”

Tahir looks at his dad, “I heard him baba, can we please get inside, I’m frozen.”

Liam scoops Zayn up in his arms, earning a yelp of surprise from the other man. “You coulda at least warned me, Li. A man needs proper warning with you save them.”

Tahir has a feeling he’s missed something very vital but ignores it and follows behind Liam down the road.

When they approach the house, Tahir sees his baba’s already fallen asleep in Liam’s arms, and smiles to himself. He unlocks the door and let’s Liam inside. 

“Do you need help, Li?”

Liam pauses at the bottom of the stairs and looks at him, “No, I’m good.  I think I’ll stay the night though, if that’s okay?  He’s gonna be extremely hungover in the morning and I need to speak to him.”

Tahir shakes his head; “You don’t need my permission to do anything, anymore.  I already told you that I’ve waited a long time for you two to get your shit together.  And frankly, I’m tired of having to walk all the way to your diner to eat when you could just as easily make me breakfast here.”

Liam laughs and Zayn stirs in his arms, “Thanks Tahir, I better get this one in bed. Chocolate chip pancakes in the morning?”

Tahir smiles, “I am gonna love having you live here, Waalid!”

Liam freezes and Tahir thinks he’s made a mistake but then Liam smiles and: “None of that formal shit. If you’re gonna call me anything it had best be abbu. Now, get in bed, its really late okay, chand?

Tahir nods, “Night abbu!”

Liam’s just put Zayn on the bed and is taking off his shoes when Tahir comes in with tears on his face, “Chand, what’s wrong?”

Liam pulls him into a hug, “Tahir?”

He feels the boy hug him tighter, “Thanks for wanting me. It means so much to me. Thank you.”

Liam feels tears pricking his eyes as he hugs the boy closer and kisses the top of his head, “Oh Tahir, you have no idea how wanted you are.”

They stay like that for a moment, Zayn’s soft snores filling the room.

Liam remembers he’s got a drunk Zayn to take care of and ends the hug, “I thought I told you to go to bed, chand.”

Tahir smiles, “How does it feel to be disobeyed?”

Liam laughs, “Oh please, like you’ve ever done anything bad, ever while I was in charge. Get in bed or no pancakes!”

Liam pulls his best serious face but Tahir just laughs at him, “Oh abbu, you know that face doesn’t work on me!”

“Why are you calling Liam abbu, beta?”

Their smiles freeze on their faces as they look at a confused Zayn.

Tahir clears his throat, “Because that’s what Liam and I decided he should be called.  He didn’t like it when I called him Waalid. So he suggested abbu and it fits.”

Zayn blinks, “Tahir, I’m your abbu.”

The boy shakes his head, “No, you’re my baba, dad. Liam’s me abbu.”

Liam swallows, “Maybe we should talk about this some other time, hmm? Chand, get in bed, I’m not gonna say it again.”

Tahir nods his head, “You got it abbu, Night baba.  Night abbu!”

The boy walks out of the room and shuts the door, “Zayn..I know we need to talk but I don’t want to do it no-“

Zayn cuts him off, “Our son can call you whatever he wants, Liam.  Just cos I didn’t realise it until recently; you’ve been just as much of a parent as I have.  Now, get in bed so we can sleep.”

Liam nods his agreement and gets in bed and notices Zayn’s already passed out again.  He moves over to pull the other man into his arms and whispers, “I know what you said to me last time you were drunk.  My heart’s yours too.”

He kisses Zayn’s temple and pulls him closer to his chest.

**

Zayn stirs awake with a fog in his mind.  He can remember the wedding, Perrie, walking home..and then he remembers waking up to Tahir and Liam speaking.  Which does explain how he’s ended up in bed with a space heater on his back.

He moves his feet and comes in contact with another leg.  He feels arms around him tighten and a low “hmmm, morning.”

He relaxes as he registers the hands that belong to Liam around him.  He feels Liam nuzzle his neck and he sighs in contentment.

 “Morning, jaan.”

Liam freezes, “You’re awake?”

Zayn chuckles, “I’m boiling hot, hung over and you’re imitating a boa constrictor.  Did you expect me to sleep through all of that?”

He can feel Liam smile into his skin, “You usually do.  Well, usually you aren’t hungover. So I guess I should have expected some irregularity. How are you feeling, drinky?”

Zayn groans, “my mouth feels like sand paper but other than that, really good.”

Liam pulls back and Zayn turns on to his back, “Zayn, you passed out twice, I had to carry you up the stairs. How are you ‘really good’?”

Zayn smiles a slow smile, “I woke up in your arms.  That means I begged you to stay, you pitied me or Tahir calls you abbu now so you’re moving in. I’m leaning toward the latter but that’s just me.”

Liam’s eyes narrow, “you weren’t as drunk as you led on, were you?”

Zayn chuckles, “I had to get you back in my bed some how, didn’t I?”

“Does Tahir know about this?”

He shakes his head, “No, I left him out of my charade.”

Liam’s eyebrows raise, “Speaking of charade, thanks for telling me Perrie’s a lesbian and that you’re the one who ran away.”

Zayn deflates, “I know.”

“And you need to tell Tahir.”

The door opens, “Tell me what?”

Liam smiles, “Tell you that I’m moving in!”

The boy’s eyes brighten, “Really abbu? You’re moving in?? For real this time? That means I can have amazing food whenever I want. This is really the best day.”

He jumps on the bed in between the other men.

“So, abbu, about those pancakes..”

Liam sighs, “All right, you monster, I’m up. Take me to the kitchen. Your slave is ready to work.”

Tahir rolls off the bed after Liam vacated his side, “Come on baba, Liam’s promised me chocolate chip pancakes.”

“I heard. I’ll be down in a few.”

Zayn watches his boys leave the room and decides he’ll tell Tahir once he and Liam have settled into a routine.

**

Three months later

“Abbu—have you seen—“

“Your French Revolution book is on the kitchen table!”

Tahir spies it and shoves it into his bag, “Thank you!”

“Okay, follow up, who are three key people involved in the French Enlightenment?”

“Easy: Beacon, Descarte and Locke!”

“What happened at the Storming of Basitlle?”

“It’s the Storming of the Bastille, abbu.”

“Tahir.”

“Uhhhh…I think that’s when the people of France stormed the prison Bastille and took down the people in power.”

“Good, which led to..”

“Which led to the infamous quote ‘Let them eat cake’”

“Tahir. Please be serious. I can’t help you if you go on a tangent.”

“It led to the actual revolution. This all happened on July 14th which is why this is seen as France’s independence day. It was the day the people took out the monarchy.”

“Very good,” Liam says

Zayn comes down the stairs and he pauses, listening to the rest of the exchange.

“You’re going to do a fabulous job on this test, chand, and I’m not saying that because we’ve been up since 4am.”

Tahir laughs, “Thanks for helping me abbu.  Love you!”

He hears a kiss and decides to make his presence known, “Good morning family.”

He sees Liam at the stove and Tahir sitting at the table eating while he looks over the review sheet.

“Morning baba!”

“Morning love.”

Zayn sniffs, “Omelets? Not pancakes?”

Liam points his spatula at Tahir, “When our fabulous son does well on this test, which he will, I promised him his favourite breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week.”

Zayn’s heart warms at Liam calling Tahir ‘our son’ and sits at the table where Liam’s placed his breakfast.

Liam clears his throat; “I got off the phone with Perrie today.  She and Jade are coming by to visit for a week.  They made reservations at the Inn and cannot wait to see Tahir’s debate.”

That was another thing that made him smile, “I’m glad she’s around more.”

Liam glares at him, “I’m glad you got your head out of your ass and realised that Perrie can be involved in her son’s life.”

Zayn stutters, “I thought it would be for the best!”

Tahir scoffs, “I’m sure you did. That still doesn’t justify how you let me hate her for most of my life.”

Zayn sighs, “I already apologized about that. I am still sorry about it.”

“We know.” They say in unison.

Tahir finishes his breakfast, “Okay. I’m off to school.  I’ll see you two after at the diner to plan my options if I fail.”

Liam laughs, “We’ll be there, ready to celebrate!”

Tahir hugs them separately and walks out the door, “Love you dads!”

Zayn smiles at Liam when he calls back, “I love you more!”

Liam turns his attention to Zayn, “And I love you too.”

**

Three more months after that

 

Zayn’s expected home any minute and Liam is just putting the bow on his anniversary present. “Stay,” He tells it, as if it’ll listen to him.

He ears the front door open and stands in front of it.

“Happy Anniversary!”

Zayn startles, “Happy anniversary, jaan.”

Liam steps to the side to reveal his present and watches Zayn’s eyes widen.

“You didn’t. Liam tell me you didn’t.”

He smiles, “I absolutely did. Her name’s Natasha.”

Zayn stares at the puppy before him.

“She’s the runt of her litter and the owners did want her because she’s got the different coloring but I saw the triangles on her chest and knew we had to have her. Our own Black Widow.”

Zayn pick up the puppy and sees what he’s talking about, on her chest are two triangles that make the hourglass shape, white standing out in stark contrast to her black fur, “Liam. You got me a puppy for our anniversary and named her after a comic book character?”

Liam scratches behind the dog’s ears, “I thought we could call her Nat.”

Zayn laughs at that because Tahir is walking in with an all white puppy. 

Zayn gestures, “Happy Anniversary, jaan.”

Liam see it and laughs, “You got me a puppy?!”

Zayn smiles, “I did. I absolutely did.”

Liam smiles at him at takes the dog from Tahir, “What’s it’s name?”

“His name’s Clint.”

Zayn lets it sink is while Tahir gets the second present ready.

Liam looks at him. “You got me a dog and named him after Hawkeye?”

Zayn nods, “I know how angry you are at Joss for what he did to his character in the movies, so I thought we could train him. See, there’s something special about this puppy.”

Liam looks at him, “What’s that?”

“He’s deaf.”

Liam’s face breaks into a huge grin, “You huge sap. I love you so much. What are we gonna do with two puppies?”

Zayn shrugs, “I dunno. We’re gonna have a lot on our plates in the coming months.  Two puppies to train, Tahir’s college applications, a wedding to plan.”

Liam nods and he walks with Clint around the room, watching the dog get acquainted with the place, “I know, those applications are going to be the—What wedding?”

Liam looks over at Zayn and sees him on one knee.

“Liam. Jaan. My love. It’s been a long time since we talked about the future.  I know that we don’t have a conventional story and that we don’t lead a conventional life but I love it.  I can’t picture anyone better to raise my son.  I can’t think of another man I want to share my bed with.  I can’t imagine my life without my grumpy diner owner who turned out to be the biggest sofie I knew. Please, ohplease, do me the greatest honour and marry me? I know that we’re a package deal, two for the price of two puppies but I promise not to pee on the carpet.”

Liam’s crying, “Of course. Zayn. I love you. How could you ever think I would say no to you?”

Zayn stands and kisses Liam. It tastes like forever.

“I love you. So much Liam.”

**

Liam's cleaning the counter at the diner and looks down at his wedding band.  There's henna still clinging to his skin even after three weeks. He can hear the chime above his door ring out followed by, “Abbu, I need help with a girl.”

He looks up and sees Tahir sit down at the counter, “Chand, you know I’m rotten at women right?”

Tahir shrugs, “At least you didn’t knock anyone up while you were figuring out your sexuality.”

Liam laughs, “Speaking of which, how was spending time with your mom?”

Tahir smiles, “Perrie’s great. She’s so talented and smart. I love getting to know her. Jade’s also really cool.”

Liam nods, “Right, so why are you asking your gay dad when you could ask your gay mom?”

Tahir stares, “I didn’t even think about that until now.  Thank abbu! You’re the best!”

Tahir hops off the stool and collides with Zayn in his haste to talk to Perrie, “Sorry baba! I gotta call Perrie!”

Zayn watches him go and raises an eyebrow at Liam, “Jaan, what’s got him all riled up?”

Liam laughs, “I reminded him he has a lesbian mother who is probably better at girl advice than me, his gay step-dad.”

Zayn smiles, “I’m sure you would have been fine but you are right about that.”

“How are the kids?”

“The dogs are fine, the vet gave them their last round of shots so now they hate me and will be cuddling you all night long.”

Liam smiles and leans across the counter to kiss Zayn, “I love you.”

Zayn smirks, “You love me for my body.”

Liam laughs at him, “What do you want to do for dinner?”

“I dunno, I was thinking you could bring something home and surprise me? And then maybe we could hide away from Tahir..be in our honeymoon phase a bit longer?”

This time it’s Liam’s turn to smirk, “I know a few places we can hide away, love.”

The chime rings out again, “For fuck’s sake, even Harry and I weren’t this sickening. Take your honeymoon phase and get it the fuck away from me!!”

Liam looks up and finds Louis smiling at them, “Sure thing Louis. Come on babe, we’ve got a honeymoon phase to make the most of.”

Zayn hums and thinks _you can hear it in the silence._ He takes Liam’s hand and follows him out of the diner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is (hopefully) all the Urdu I used. I am SO sorry if any of it is incorrect. This is just me googling things and hoping they're correct!  
> Chand: moon  
> Waalid: formal Father  
> Beta: son  
> Baba: dad  
> Abbu: dad  
> Daadi: grand  
> Daada: grand  
> Kya haal hey: how are you?  
> Khuda hafez: roughly goodbye  
> Ammi: mom  
> Mera dil ka tukura: my heart is yours  
> Fee aman'nillah: be safely with Allah  
> Shabb bakhair: Good night  
> Boht Boht Shukriya: thank you very much  
> Salgirah Mubarak: Happy birthday  
> Assalaam-o-Alaikum, Mera naam Liam hai. Kya haal hey: Hello, My name is Liam, How are you?  
> Wa'alaikum Salaam: And upon you peace  
> Larka: boy


End file.
